Opening

86% Star Trek Into Darkness May 16
22% Erased May 17
90% Frances Ha May 17
44% The English Teacher May 17
42% Black Rock May 17
77% Pieta May 17
—— Populaire May 17
21% 33 Postcards May 17

Top Box Office

78% Iron Man 3 $72.5M
50% The Great Gatsby $50.1M
47% Pain & Gain $5.0M
37% Peeples $4.6M
77% 42 $4.6M
56% Oblivion $4.1M
69% The Croods $3.6M
98% Mud $2.5M
8% The Big Wedding $2.5M
60% Oz the Great and Powerful $1.1M

Coming Soon

—— The Hangover Part III May 23
79% Fast & Furious 6 May 24
—— Epic May 24
94% Before Midnight May 24
A Bug's Life

A Bug's Life (1998)

tomatometer

92

Average Rating: 7.9/10
Reviews Counted: 84
Fresh: 77 | Rotten: 7

Blending top notch animation with rousing adventure, witty dialogue, and memorable characters, A Bug's Life is another Pixar winner.

95

Average Rating: 7.5/10
Critic Reviews: 20
Fresh: 19 | Rotten: 1

Blending top notch animation with rousing adventure, witty dialogue, and memorable characters, A Bug's Life is another Pixar winner.

audience

61

liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 901,013

My Rating

Movie Info

John Lasseter, director of Pixar's movie phenomenon Toy Story, has set new standards in computer animation with this effort, another Disney-released children's epic entitled A Bug's Life. Blending classic Disney storytelling characters and the mysterious underground world of bugs, Lasseter has created a film that can be enjoyed by all audiences, and another franchise in the process. A Bug's Life is a computerized retelling of the Aesop fable The Ant and the Grasshopper, made as a cartoon-short

Apr 20, 1999

Buena Vista Pictures - Official Site External Icon

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Cast

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All Critics (85) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (83) | Rotten (7) | DVD (39)

A Bug's Life may be the single most amazing film I've ever seen that I couldn't fall in love with.

September 7, 2011 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This animated fable teems with vivid creatures standing on their own countless feet.

June 25, 2011 Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal
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The plot matures handsomely; the characters neatly converge and combust; the gags pay off with emotional resonance.

September 1, 2008 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine
TIME Magazine
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Full of adventure, spectacle, light romance, and the kind of suspense that doesn't require an unpredictable outcome to make your spine tingle.

June 20, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
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Pixel perfect.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
Top Critic IconTop Critic

One of the great movies -- a triumph of storytelling and character development, and a whole new ballgame for computer animation.

June 18, 2002 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The colours are vivid, the detail incredible and the vocal performances, led by Foley, are fine. Happily, it works on both a child's and adult's level.

February 17, 2012 Full Review Source: Film4
Film4

Cute animated tale with some mild peril and scary bugs.

December 21, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media

The rest of the film has similar fun mixing bug-world givens with anthropomorphism.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Sight and Sound
Sight and Sound

Extras on the first disc include a full length audio commentary by co-director John Lasseter and a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the film.

June 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide
Apollo Guide

Promotes the classic American ethos of individualism without seeming preachy or narrow-minded, creating characters we enjoy, a story that's fun and visuals that sparkle.

June 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | Comment (1)
Apollo Guide

The whole film is one big wow in Hi-Def.

June 7, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

pure joy--whimsical, funny, and downright entertaining

May 29, 2009 Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk
Q Network Film Desk

A Bug's Life [is] sure to endure as a superb children's entertainment. [Blu-ray]

May 24, 2009 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | Comment (1)
Groucho Reviews

Entertaining computer-animated fantasy epic.

October 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide
Decent Films Guide

Doesn't merit much enthusiasm or indignation; it just skitters across your consciousness, leaving no traces except a vague depression.

August 11, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comments (5)
eFilmCritic.com

A classic. It's better than the last several Disney animated films. PIXAR has stated they want to be the second successful feature animation studio. They're already there.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat
Film Threat

The witty dialog and contemporary humor keep things interesting and entertaining for the adults out there. The kids, even younger ones, have plenty to keep them occupied for 96 minutes.

April 9, 2005 Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews
Reeling Reviews

Audience Reviews for A Bug's Life

for one of the earliest Pixar films it really doesn't show because the art is still fantastic, and the drama and comedy of this movie was fantastic and as a little kid this was my favorite movie its definitely not anymore but it still is fun to watch
December 29, 2010
michael e.
Michael Edwards

Super Reviewer

It may not be the best Pixar film out there, without the feel-good story that most of the films in the Disney/Pixar universe have, but "A Bug's Life" is a real treat visually and character-wise. It is a very simple story about how one ant, mistreated and misunderstood, becomes the life of his colony, when a bunch of mistakes take him on an adventure to find Warrior bugs, in order to stop an infestation of Grasshoppers on their island. It is basic, and kind of ridiculous, but the heart is all there and you can feel for the characters by the end. I highly enjoy this film and I will continue watching it for years to come.
January 14, 2010
KJ Proulx

Super Reviewer

    1. Francis: Hey, turn your butt off!
    – Submitted by Matthew D (50 days ago)
    1. Hopper: Let this be a lesson to all you ants! Ideas are very dangerous things! You are mindless, soil-shoving losers, put on this Earth to serve us!
    2. Flik: You're wrong, Hopper. Ants are not meant to serve grasshoppers. I've seen these ants do great things, and year after year they somehow manage to pick food for themselves *and* you. So-so who is the weaker species? Ants don't serve grasshoppers! It's *you* who need *us*! We're a lot stronger than you say we are... And you know it, don't you?
    – Submitted by Rocky F (5 months ago)
    1. Manny: You listen to me, my boy. I've made a living out of being a failure, and you, sir, are not a failure.
    – Submitted by Laurie S (5 months ago)
    1. Hopper: You piece of dirt! No, I'm wrong. You're lower than dirt. You're an ant!
    – Submitted by Lucas M (21 months ago)
    1. Princess Atta: You mean you're not warriors?
    2. P.T. Flea: Are you kidding? These guys are the lousiest circus bugs you've ever seen, and they're gonna make me rich!
    – Submitted by Lucas M (21 months ago)
    1. Rosie: Okay, come on everyone. Break a leg.
    2. Flik: Whoa! You're vicious!
    – Submitted by Lucas M (21 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Das Große Krabbeln (DE)
  • 1001 Pattes (FR)
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